


Fairytale Christmas

by pandorabox82



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: 12 Days of Ficmas, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:29:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28857363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandorabox82/pseuds/pandorabox82
Summary: Dave whisks Penelope away for a romantic week in England. The holidays are made that much better by the surprises that he has in place for her.
Relationships: Penelope Garcia/David Rossi
Kudos: 2





	Fairytale Christmas

"I can't believe that you rented out an entire castle for just the two of us for Christmas, Dave!"

Penelope stared at him in shocked wonder as he shrugged, giving her a cocky little smirk as he gestured to the building behind him. "I wanted to give you the Royal experience, Kitten. You deserve something like this for Christmas."

She let out a small sigh as she nodded, adjusting how she was holding on to her bag as she started for the door. "I just assumed that we would be staying in a quaint little B&B for our Christmas holiday. Not this."

"Only the best for my princess," he teased before coming over to her side and kissing her forehead as he grabbed the strap of her bag and tugged it off her shoulder so that he could carry it inside. "We'll even have staff available to cater to our every whim for the week. I wanted to make certain that you would be pampered while we were away."

She nodded as she followed him inside the building, knowing that as soon as their things were put away, she wanted to explore and see what all there was in the castle, along with taking as many pictures as she could. After all, she had no idea when or if she would ever have free reign of a place as nice as this. "And we can just…go into every room? Without having to feel like we're inside a library or museum?"

"Within reason, of course. You can't just run amok and pick out things to bring home with us, after all. The contents stay with the castle. I, for one, cannot wait to try out the bed, though," he said with a smarmy wink, and she rolled her eyes as she reached out and smacked his shoulder lightly as they made their way up the stairs. Penelope tried not to gawp like a country bumpkin at the grandeur of the place, but it was quite difficult. And that was exactly what Dave had been planning on, she just knew it, because he loved to be able to surprise her beyond her wildest dreams. It was still something that she was trying to grow accustomed to as they grew closer. She had been there for him, picking up the pieces of his broken heart when Krystall had left him three years ago, and things had naturally progressed from there. Alex and Erin said that they made an adorable couple, which was sweet of them, but there were still times when she felt like an interloper. There was a part of her that thought he should have ended up with Erin, even though it was clear that she and Alex had been heading towards something more than friendship when Dave and Krystall had split.

Sighing a little as they reached the landing of the first floor, Penelope allowed Dave to move forward, assuming that he would know the way to their bedroom. Instead of heading into any of the rooms down the corridor, he turned and went to the next set of stairs and began to climb once more. Her sigh turned into one long utterance of frustration as she thought about the fact that they would be climbing up and down so many steps each day. "At least my ass will start to look better," she muttered bitterly as she followed her partner up to the next floor, unable to keep her own eyes off his ass.

"I forgot to tell you that there isn't a lift here. So we'll be using our legs quite a bit this holiday. Unless you just want to spend the entire week in bed."

"We're in England, David. Do you think that I want to spend seven days just lazing around in bed? No! I want to see as much as we can in a week. I know that it won't be much, since there's so much to see, and so little time, but we're going to use that rental car of ours for all the adventures we can muster."

He chuckled a little as he nodded, opening the first door on the right after he'd stepped off the landing, and she followed after him, unsurprised to see that their other luggage was already in the bedroom, everything put away, or so it appeared to her. "Just another perk of being a famous author, Kitten," he murmured in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her torso. "Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, and I've already booked us a table at the best restaurant in town. I thought that we could just slip into bed now and let our bodies adjust to the time change?"

"You just want to get me naked, because I wouldn't let you initiate me into the mile high club." He shrugged, making her giggle a little. "Erin was right about you, you are incorrigible!"

"And you have been talking to her too much, Penelope."

"Hey, since she and Alex decided to retire after the Replicator incident, and then you let her slip from your hands, well…I figured that girls' nights were in order to get to know her better and make certain that you hadn't done anything to hurt her." She turned and leaned in to kiss him sweetly. "But that's also where I learned all the things that would help me to make you happy and make you treat me right. Erin's right, you can really be led around by your…nose."

Dave groaned a little as he kissed her once more, pulling her tight to his chest as he walked them over to the bed and pulled her down onto it, deepening the kiss as they sank into the soft mattress. "You lead me around by more than my nose, Penelope Garcia, and you know that full well."

She wanted to give him a sharp reply, only to yawn deeply as she shook her head. "This is so not fair. I want to continue this, but I couldn't sleep on the plane, despite being in first class. I was just too excited, I guess. Like those kids from that old Disney commercial, you know? And now I am exhausted. I just need a few hours to nap, and then we can finish this little dalliance."

He nodded before placing a soft kiss to the center of her forehead. The gesture caused her to close her eyes out of instinct, and she turned onto her side and scooted back until she was flush against him, welcoming his arm around her waist as she quickly drifted off into a dreamless sleep. When she woke up next, she felt completely refreshed, and she glanced down at her watch, frowning as she tried to comprehend what it was saying. "Yes, Kitten, you aren't seeing things. It is eight in the morning."

"You were supposed to wake me up!"

"You looked more adorable sleeping there, so I didn't have the heart to do that. Now, how about you shower while I start breakfast for us, and then we can go out exploring for the day. Does that sound good?"

"You're cooking, so I think that you know my answer is most definitely yes." Sitting up, Penelope stretched and took a good look at Dave, noticing that he had showered at some point, as his hair was still a little damp. "Go, before I pull you back into this bed and we don't get up again until it's time to dress for your fancy supper," she teased, shooing him away with her hand as she got to her feet and padded over to the dresser, finding fresh undergarments and then picked out something to wear for the day before making her way to what she hoped was the bathroom.

Thankfully, her instincts were as good as ever, and she sighed with pleasure as she stripped out of yesterday's travel clothes, peeling the bra off her body and trying not to wince as the band pulled away from her skin. There were deep grooves on one side due to her sleeping position, and she was suddenly regretting falling asleep before at least taking the bra off the previous evening. Scratching absently at the grooves, Penelope stepped into the shower before turning the water on, letting it fall down on her as it warmed up. She shivered at first, but was soon almost cooing in pleasure as the grime and dust of travel and too long sleep sloughed off her body and she began to wake up a little quicker.

While washing her hair, Penelope began to sing the first Christmas song that came to mind, feeling truly festive, since she was with the man she had quickly fallen in love with, and they were in the heart of the country that she loved. The only thing that could possibly make it better would be if their friends were there to share in this magic, but she knew that that wasn't possible. Even Dave's pockets were not that deep, as much as she would like them to be.

Turning off the water, Penelope took a deep breath and stepped out of the warmth into the cooler air of the bathroom. Grabbing a towel from the rack, she wrapped it around her body before picking up her lotion bottle, working it into her still damp skin in order to retain moisture as best she could. Once her body was completely dry, she stepped into her fresh clothes and then brushed her teeth before fixing her hair and makeup. As soon as she was satisfied with her appearance, Penelope smiled at her reflection before taking her clothes into their bedroom and put them away before making her way downstairs.

It was only when Penelope reached the ground floor that she realized she had no idea where the kitchen was, since she had never had the chance to explore the previous day. Taking a deep breath through her nose, she tried to find a scent in the air to clue her in as to which way to go. "Are you lost, miss?"

Penelope turned to face an older woman and gave her a small nod. "My partner told me that he would start breakfast for us, but I don't know where the kitchen here is. I fell asleep last night before I could find my way around here."

"Jet lag?" She nodded. "It happens to the best of us. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you where the kitchen is, though I doubt your partner is doing the actual cooking. We have staff on premise for that." Again, she nodded, smiling slightly when the woman patted her arm affectionately before striding off down the corridor. Surprisingly, Penelope had to almost jog to keep up with her, and she tried to regulate her breathing so that she wouldn't sound out of breath when she finally arrived at her destination. "Here we are," the woman said as she opened a door, revealing a cozy kitchen. It wasn't what she had been expecting, but there was something very warm and inviting about the room, and she turned to thank her guide, only to find her already halfway back down the corridor.

"Thank you!" she called out anyway, watching the woman raise her hand in acknowledgement. Letting out a little huff of breath, Penelope turned and entered the kitchen, looking for Dave. He was seated at the table, drinking a cup of coffee, and she bustled over to him, plopping down into the chair on his left before pouring her own coffee. "I am so glad that I met the caretaker of this castle, as I would never have found this room on my own."

"I would have come searching for you eventually, Kitten. Our food should be ready in just a few minutes. I went ahead and ordered a full English breakfast for us both, but I'll eat the meat from yours, and you can have my mushrooms?"

"I can live with that," she replied before taking a sip of coffee. "This is really good. I just expected tea."

"You need the caffeine this morning, Penelope, since we are going to be exploring for most of the day." She lifted an eyebrow as she nodded, taking another sip of coffee before letting out a pleased breath. "I hope that you don't mind that I've chosen where we're going today. I just have things timed out so that we can arrive back here and clean up a little before our supper. You can have the rest of the holiday, all right?"

"I suppose that I could be all right with that. So long as you don't complain about the places that I choose to go."

He nodded with a slight chuckle. "As long as you don't mind the fact that I have one boundary – we are not going to chase down any member of the royal family. I rather want to return home with you, rather than have to come visit you every six months in prison here."

She let out a mock gasp as she smacked the back of her hand against his chest. "My prince chasing days are far behind me, darling. You're the only guy I want in my life, it just took a few bumps in the road to get here. And I don't want this to end." Penelope was about to cup his cheek and lean in to kiss him when their meals were placed on the table by a thin, jovial, man. "Thank you!" she sang out, giving him a winning smile before tucking into her food.

While they ate, Penelope thought that she could hear familiar voices in the corridor, but shook her head, knowing that she was probably just hearing things. "You didn't bring your purse and coat down," Dave said as they finished up their meal.

"I didn't know that you wanted to leave right away, otherwise I would have." She knocked her shoulder against his before smiling at him. "If you want to run up to our room and grab them, I could definitely use another cup of coffee or two."

Dave smiled at her as he nodded, leaning over to kiss her softly before getting up from the table. "I should be back in just a few minutes, darling. Try not to get too deep in your coffee."

Rolling her eyes, Penelope pointed towards the door before turning back to the table and picking up another delicious cinnamon roll, taking a delicate bite before sipping at her coffee. There was something so perfect about this entire morning, and she couldn't begin to think about how it might get better from here. Sighing lightly, she finished up her roll before drinking down two cups of coffee in rapid succession. As she continued to wait for Dave to return, her felt her fingers itch for her phone, only to realise that she had left that upstairs as well.

"All right, Kitten, I have everything, including your phone. I can't believe that you've managed to go this long without it in your hands," he teased as she got to her feet and allowed him to help her into her coat. "I should confiscate it for the entire day, just so that you're present."

"But then I don't have anything to take pictures with!" she protested as she held out her hand expectantly. Dave chuckled a bit as he handed over her purse. "All right, lead on, my dear Italian Stallion." He nodded and took hold of her hand, guiding her outside. Their rental car was idling in front of the door, as if Dave had arranged it perfectly, which he probably had, and she was grateful for that, since it was a cold morning, and she didn't want to be outside too long.

As they were pulling out of the drive, Penelope thought she saw a familiar dark head and she frowned as she tried to turn and look back, only for them to quickly turn the corner and start down the road. "Is everything okay?"

"I just thought that there was someone I knew heading into the castle, but that's not possible." Dave nodded and reached over to pat her knee softly. She smiled and relaxed in her seat, ready to see what the day ahead brought them.

It was a whirlwind ten hours, and Penelope found herself getting a little tired by the time Dave arrived back at their castle. "All right, we're going to leave the car here while we get ready for tonight," Dave said as he helped her from the car and up to their room. "And I have the perfect dress for you to wear."

"What?"

"Yeah, I wanted you to look like the perfect angel that I know you to be." He pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before opening the door to the castle and guiding her inside. "This is going to be a magical night, I hope."

"Every night that I get to spend with you is a magical night," she quickly replied as she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow as they climbed the stairs upwards. Again, Penelope thought that she heard familiar voices, but tried to push that thought from her mind, knowing that there would be no way that Jayje and Will were in the country, let alone here in their castle. "So, is it just supper that we're having tonight, or are we heading out afterwards?"

"It's just supper tonight. I'll have to have you look up a place to go dancing, since I know that you love that."

"I'll do that tomorrow after we open presents," she replied as they stepped onto their floor. Breathing in deeply, she could smell his aftershave, along with another familiar scent, and Penelope frowned a little, unable to place where the scent memory was coming from.

"What makes you think there will be presents? Isn't this enough of a gift?" He looked at her to give her a broad wink to clue her in on the fact that he was teasing her, and she shook her head as she entered the bedroom and began to strip off her clothes. "And here you are, unwrapping the gift I love most."

"Uh uh, you do not get to touch right now, because I don't have enough time to shower and fix my hair if things get too hot and heavy. So, I guess that you have to pick. Dessert now, and no supper, or supper now and dessert later."

"You drive a hard bargain, Kitten, but I suppose that I will have to go with supper now, dessert later." He gave her a small peck on the cheek before heading over to the closet and pulling out a garment bag. "Here, you can change in the bathroom, I won't need to use the mirror in there to fix my hair, the one in here will be fine."

She nodded as she took the hanger from his hand, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before scurrying over to the bathroom, hoping that none of the workers were around, as she didn't really want to give them a show they hadn't asked to be a part of. Thankfully, she was able to get inside the room before anyone else came along, and Penelope hung the dress on the hook before washing off the remains of her daytime makeup. Once that was done, she took time to wash the important bits and bobs of her body before running a comb through her hair and arranging it into a little more elegant hairdo, knowing she'd do more once she had seen the dress.

Finally, it was time to unzip the garment bag, and a sharp gasp left her lips as she looked at what Dave had chosen for her. It was floor length, or at least, it would be once she had on her favorite heels that she had insisted on bringing. Reaching out, Penelope brushed her fingers over the sparkly fabric, a soft grin spreading across her face when she saw that the deep plum gown was cut in such a way that her breasts would be on full display, just like Dave liked them. Chuckling to herself, she slipped it off the hanger before going back over to the mirror and taking a look at it draped against her body as she decided how to do her makeup.

It didn't take long to create her evening look, and she decided to up the glamor by creating a smoky look using some glittery eyeshadow to put some of her normal sparkle into the look. Once that was finished, she applied a deep red lipstick and smiled at her reflection before shimmying into her dress. Since it was a wrap dress, it was easy to tie to around the front and create a pretty bow before she smoothed the fabric across her stomach as she took a few deep breaths. She truly felt like a princess in this dress, and she was glad to know that Dave knew her so well as to know what would make her feel the most lovely.

Drawing in another deep breath, she left the bathroom and padded back to the bedroom, seeing that Dave was already to go, engrossed in a book while he waited for her to return. Clearing her throat delicately, she was able to watch his face soften into a look of pure love the moment he set eyes on her. "I knew that that dress would look amazing on you," he breathed out as he got to his feet.

"I feel like royalty in it. But I need my shoes so that this Cinderella can be led to the ball by her Prince Charming." Dave nodded as he gestured towards the closet, and she sashayed over to the door, knowing that he was watching her ass with every step she took. "Are we ready to go, then?" she asked as she stepped into her heels.

"I think that we are, yes." He held out her coat and she allowed him to slip it onto her shoulders before buttoning it across her chest. "Seriously, I hope that you like what I have planned for tonight."

"How could I not? I'm with you, after all," she replied as she took hold of his hand, allowing him to guide her back down to the ground floor. There was an older gentleman at the door, and he opened it for them once they reached him, and Penelope gave him a wide smile as she thanked him. Dave le her around to the passenger side of the car and helped her inside before getting behind the wheel and driving her into the town proper.

The restaurant was definitely upscale, and she sucked in a long breath when they were immediately shown to a secluded table by the window, affording her a view of the tree that dominated the square. As she looked over the menu, it was easy to find something that she liked, and Penelope leaned back in her chair a little to watch Dave place their wine order. "Does this place meet with your approval?"

"Very much so. I never thought that I'd be in a place to have experiences like this, and it makes me happy to know that someone loves me enough to want to expand my world." Reaching across the table, she picked up his hand and squeezed it lightly. "I think that I would follow you to the ends of the earth, if you asked it of me."

"That's reassuring to hear. I know that I'm old…"

"Age is just a number that we focus too much on. You're exactly what I need right now." She squeezed his hand once more before picking up the wine glass that had just been set down in front of her, sipping at the red wine as she watched the tree outside. "If we didn't have responsibilities at home, I'd ask if we could just move over here. I'm certain that you have enough money to fulfill the requirements, after all. Though I don't know if I'd be allowed with my past and all."

"I'm certain that we could work around that, if you truly wanted to stay here. But you're right, we do have responsibilities at home."

She nodded reluctantly as the waiter came back to take their meal order, and then they settled into an easy conversation while they ate. She could tell that he was getting nervous about something as the meal drew to an end, and Penelope frowned as she tried to understand what had thrown him off so. "Dave? Is everything okay?"

"Yes. I just, I have something to ask you."

Penelope felt coldness spread across her body, wondering if he had just brought her here to break up in a beautiful place so that she would have something lovely to ease the sting, and she nodded slowly as she took a few breaths in an effort to keep from crying. "And that would be?"

"I know that you don't believe in the institute of marriage, but I am a bit of a traditionalist. If things had lasted longer between Erin and myself, I would have asked her this same question. Will you marry me?"

He pulled out a small ring box and handed it over to her, even though Penelope hadn't given him her answer, and she smiled a little as she began to cry. "You're awfully certain that I'll say yes," she said as she opened the box and sucked in a short breath. "David."

"It was my grandmother's ring, and I thought that it would find a good home on your hand. Carolyn wore my mother's engagement ring, Hayden had her grandmother's ring, Krystall…"

"Let me guess, she wanted something shiny and new?" He nodded. "Why does that not surprise me. What would Erin have worn?"

"Her mother's ring. Alan bought her a brand new ring, he never understood how sentimental she was. Instead, Alex will be the one to slide that ring into place on her finger."

"What?!" she asked as she slid the ring into place on the correct finger, looking at it in dazed pleasure.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have let you know that, since it's not happening until Valentine's Day, as Alex thinks that would be more romantic."

"Hey, you're the one proposing on Christmas Eve, don't knock using a holiday as an excuse to propose, mister," she teased as she ran her thumb against the band of the ring. "You didn't have to bring me to England just to propose. It would have been just as romantic back home."

"I wanted it to be special, for you." She sighed and nodded. "Now, dessert is waiting for us back at the castle. Shall we head back that way?"

"Of course. And I do hope that dessert includes chocolate sauce?"

He laughed as he rose to his feet, helping her into her coat before guiding her from the restaurant and out to the car. A light dusting of snow left everything looking fresh and beautiful as the moon glimmered off the flakes, and she sighed as she stepped a little closer to his side, letting her head rest on his arm as they walked together. "I'll have to see if I can find any chocolate sauce in the pantry of the kitchen, otherwise we'll just make do with what we have."

She nodded as she got into the car and then he was driving back to the castle. It was a quiet ride, since she spent too much time staring at her ring and wondering how to best take a picture of it to post on Instagram. Once they'd arrived back at their home away from home, Penelope bounded out of the car and up the steps to the door, watching as Dave parked next to a line of other cars, causing her to frown a little, wondering who else was there, since Dave had intimated that the castle would be theirs alone for the week. "Who else is here?" she asked as they entered, and he shook his head as he began to lead her towards the kitchen. "Dave, I'm not dumb. I know that that is too many cars to be workers here this late at night."

"I don't know what you mean, Kitten," he said as he opened the door for her. "Why wouldn't we be alone here?"

"Because there are friends who want to celebrate this engagement with you!"

Penelope gasped when she saw who was gathered in the kitchen, fresh tears clouding her eyes. "I thought I heard your voice, Jayje! Will! And I smelled your perfume in the hall, Alex. But where's Erin?"

"Getting the ice cream out of the freezer," the woman in question replied as she held out a container of chocolate ice cream. "But we're missing two people…"

"Sorry, we got lost on our way down here." Penelope slowly turned to see that the one person she had thought she would never see again standing in the doorway, his arm slung around Jessica's waist, an easy grin on his lips. "I couldn't remain in hiding when two of my closest friends decided to become engaged."

"Boss man," she whispered as she stepped away from Dave's side to go to him, allowing him to wrap her in a tight hug as he pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head. "It is so good to see you."

"And it's good to see you, too. But we'll have the entire week to catch up, let's focus on you two and this celebration now. Do we have non-alcoholic champagne hanging around somewhere? We need more than cake and ice cream, after all. How else are we going to toast you?"

"It should be chilling in the fridge, Hotch." Penelope smiled up at Aaron as he stepped away from her to head over to the appliance. Jessica stepped into her space and hugged her quickly before kissing her cheek.

"It is so good to see you again, Penelope."

"You, too, Jess. And I am really going to need the story of how you two got together." Jessica nodded as they rejoined the group, and then Penelope was being hugged by everyone present, even Alex, and she melted into that last embrace, knowing how rare it was for the woman to show affection with anyone outside her partner. "I'm so glad you're all here for us, but no Emily?"

"She couldn't get away, unfortunately. But she does send her regards," JJ said as Penelope returned to Dave's side. "There was an incident that came up right before I left, so she had to put out some fires."

"I see," Penelope replied as she snuggled in closer to her fiancé's side. That word felt weird to think, but it was her new truth, and she sighed a little as she spread her hand out on his chest, drumming her fingers a little as she waited for Aaron to return. "Still, the fact that so many of you came to share in our special evening means the world to me. Are you all here for the week, too?"

"Yes, but we're not going to intrude on your alone time, Penelope. This is our base of operations, so to speak, and while we'll have breakfasts together, unless you want us, we'll be doing our own thing," Erin replied as she started cutting the cake into eight slices. "Don't worry, Jennifer took pictures of the cake beforehand, since I knew that you would want that. And have the two of you had your picture taken yet as an engaged couple?" Penelope shook her head. "Darling, get her phone and take a few shots. I know that you're better at it than I am."

Alex nodded as she held out her hand, and Penelope gave her the phone, cuddling closer to Dave as Alex took a few pictures of them while the others got everything else ready for them. Once it was prepared, they took a seat at the table and began to eat their dessert. There was something so wonderful about spending the best time of the year with the people she loved most in a place that she utterly adored, and she was so grateful to Dave for creating a fairytale Christmas for her.


End file.
